THREE Blues Ladies players have been called-up to represent England at this summer’s Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Manager Mark Sampson announced his final 23-squad list of players this week and there were three familiar faces for Blues fans in the squad.
Blues trio of Jade Moore, Jo Potter and Karen Carney have all received the nod from Sampson, as England face France, Mexico and Colombia in their group phase next month.
“This is a hugely exciting time for all the staff and players,” said Sampson.
“We’re ranked sixth in the world, we are a good team and we’ve got some exceptional players.
“We’ve got a very compact, resolute unit and we’ve got a real togetherness in the group so we’ll certainly be a difficult opponent for anyone in Canada”
Carney is called into the squad with over 100 caps and 23 goals to her name, having been a key player within the qualifying phase of the World Cup.
The Blues skipper, who was recently inducted into Birmingham City Football Club’s Hall of Fame, has been a regular in the England set up since her senior debut in 2005 and will hoping to play a big part for England at her third World Cup.
Moore received her first call-up to the England Women’s senior set-up in 2011, during the Euro 2013 qualifiers.
She has gone on to represent England with 16 caps and one goal heading into the finals.
During England’s qualifying campaign, Sampson drafted in several old faces and a handful of new recruits.
One of those was Blues’ very own Jo Potter who was recalled to the England set-up, having not represented the Lionesses since 2007.
The midfielder marked her first cap in seven years with a goal in the 10-0 qualify win in Montenegro and will be hoping to be selected once again to star alongside her club team mates.
England will play their opening fixture on June 9 when they take on France in Moncton.
Sampson’s side then take on Mexico on June 13 before their final group match against Columbia on June 17. Sampson added:
“I think as a group of staff we’re very clear about the direction we want to take the team in during the tournament and hopefully the players can pull together.
“With this group in particular we have a large number of players who have performed very well and contributed to get this team to where it is now.
“The ambition is to go to Canada and win the competition but we’ve got to treat every game like a final.”
Keep up-to-date with the Blues Ladies’ progress by visiting Solihullobserver.co.uk
